Mumbai Rains: Trains delayed, buses diverted, schools and colleges shut; more showers expected

A fresh spell of rain overnight in Mumbai has crippled the city once again. Multiple areas across the city witnessed knee-deep waterlogging. As a precautionary measure, schools and colleges have been given a holiday. Airlines such as Jet Airways have declared that they will not be penalising flyers in case of no-show, refund or flight change. Trains in Nala Sopara were halted, while there was a delay of around 15 minutes in suburban trains. People were also stranded in stations. Multiple Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses were diverted from their usual route due to floods. Low lying areas of Dharavi, Matunga, Parel, King's Circle, areas in Thane district, Virar and Vasai, Dadar, Sion, Vidyavihar, Andheri, Jogeshwari suburbs witnessed flooding after the rains.

Roads in King's Circle, Suman Nagar, Kurla kajupada and other places are reported to have been submerged in one feet of water. Mulund and Sonapur Junction were submerged in half a feet water. Roads were not only waterlogged, vehicles were also snarled up in traffic, while people navigated their way to offices on foot.  

No services were suspended or cancelled, as mentioned by a BEST official. Even in the airport, services were not cancelled even though visibility was poor. Moreover, some airlines issued notices to cooperate with customers. "Due to heavy rains in #Mumbai, we've issued a waiver on penalties for date/flight change, refund, no-show (including fare difference if any), on all confirmed tickets for flights operating to and from Mumbai for 9th July, 2018," Jet Airways tweeted.

#9Wupdate: Due to heavy rains in #Mumbai, we've issued a waiver on penalties for date/flight change, refund, no-show (including fare difference if any), on all confirmed tickets for flights operating to and from Mumbai for 9th July, 2018.

- Jet Airways (@jetairways) July 9, 2018

"Heavy duty pumps are being used to pump out water from railway tracks at Dadar, Matunga Road, Goregaon and other locations. All efforts are being made to ensure smooth functioning of Western Railway suburban services despite very heavy and incessant rainfall," said a spokesperson for Western Railway, as mentioned in ANI.

Heavy duty pumps are being used to pump out water from railway tracks at Dadar, Matunga Road, Goregaon & other locations. All efforts are being made to ensure smooth functioning of Western Railway suburban services despite very heavy & incessant rainfall: Western Railway #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/AwiGpARWhg

- ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2018

The Colaba observatory in South Mumbai recorded 170.6 mm rainfall since 8:30 am yesterday, while the suburban Santacruz recorded 122 mm in the same period. "The city and its suburban areas received a good spell of showers yesterday. Mumbai got a widespread downpour as the rain intensity escalated to very active," an official said to PTI.

Six people were killed in the last 72 hours due to the rains in Mumbai. In a recent video doing the rounds on social media, a woman who fell off a bike that hit a pothole can be seen getting crushed under a bus. The video was captured on a CCTV camera. A wall collapsed near Sandhurst Road railway station and a portion of a three-storey building collapsed in Kurla. Not only is there a significant hindrance to the functioning of civic amenities, there appears to be a threat to lives as well.

The situation appears to be grim as the Met has forecasted more rains in the next few days. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also issued warning for Assam, Goa and Uttarakhand, along with Mumbai. Met has issued a five-day weather alert for Konkan, Goa and Vidarbha.